‘Daphne Caruana Galizia was a fearless reporter, taking on the rich and the powerful. A one-woman WikiLeaks, she led the Panama Papers investigation into corruption in Malta.’
Photograph: Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters

Mrs Caruana Galizia was a fearless reporter, taking on the rich and the powerful. A “one-woman WikiLeaks”, she led the Panama Papers investigation into corruption in Malta. Her death must be properly investigated – local police already appear to be unsympathetic. Mrs Caruana Galizia’s most recent revelations pointed the finger at Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, and two of his closest aides, connecting offshore companies linked to the three men with the sale of Maltese passports and hundreds of thousands of euros in payments from the government of Azerbaijan. Despite a judicial inquiry into the allegations, Mr Muscat won a snap poll this summer.

The charge is that Malta is turning into a state run by, and resembling, organised crime – which does not govern but disposes of positions, wealth and troublesome persons. Malta cannot be a sham EU state where elections, the rule of law and the courts are just for show. The continent’s citizens accept EU governance because every member state is a functioning democracy. When one of its own backslides on democratic commitments, when a life is lost in the pursuit of truth, then the EU must take action.